Mr Nasheed was allowed to leave his jail cell and travel to London in January for medical treatment under a deal brokered by Sri Lanka, India and Britain.

He was supposed to return to the Indian Ocean archipelago after treatment, but remained in London where his wife and daughters have been living since he was jailed.

Explaining his decision to seek asylum, he said: “President Yameen has jailed every opposition leader and cracked down on anyone who dares to oppose or criticise him. In the past year, freedom of the press, expression and assembly have all been lost.”

Mr Nasheed's case has put the international spotlight on the Maldives, an island chain renowned as a tourist idyll for wealthy visitors but which has been troubled by political instability, repressive crackdowns and radical Islam.

The British decision to grant refugee status was certain to anger the Maldives government, which has always insisted that Mr Nasheed was handled bu the courts under the rule of law.

“The government is disappointed, if confirmed, that the UK government is allowing itself to be part of this charade, and further, is enabling an individual to circumvent his obligations under the law," the country's foreign ministry said.

Britain has been a leading champion of the Mr Nasheed’s case. Mr Cameron described him as his “best friend” in 2011 and this year hosted the ex-president, his wife and Ms Clooney at Downing Street after he arrived in London.

Mr Nasheed’s team was expected to issue a statement later on Monday, but his lawyer and aides in the Maldives confirmed that he had been given refugee status.

A British High Commission official in the Sri Lankan capital Colombo, from where diplomats cover the Maldives. said it did not comment on individual asylum cases.

Since his release, Mr Nasheed has called for sanctions against Mr Yameen and his allies for detaining political prisoners, mainly opposition leaders, and for alleged human rights abuses in the Maldives.

Mr Maldives, a British-educated political dissident and activist, defeated the country’s long-time dictator Maumoon Abdul Gayoom in elections in 2008.

Mohamed Nasheed demanded fresh elections after being ousted in what he called a coup d'etat in 2012Credit:
S.KODIKARA/AFP/Getty Images

But he was forced to resign in 2012 after orchestrated street protests and then lost an election in contentious circumstances in 2013 to Mr Yameen, the half-brother of the former dictator.

Mr Nasheed was subsequently prosecuted for his role in ordering the arrest and detention of a senior judge who was close to the old regime.

Asked at a press conference in January whether he would return to the Maldives, he gave a tantalising answer, quoting a lyric from the British punk band The Clash during his school days in Britain.

"I know the question you all want to ask is will I go back,” he said. “This has been more eloquently answered by The Clash in 1982 when I was doing my A-levels – 'Should I Stay Or Should I Go?'"

Just a few hours before he spoke then, the Maldives government hit back at his decision to meet the media, accusing him of using his travel abroad to court publicity.

"It is now clear the former president has been disingenuous at best, and misleading at worst, in seeking medical leave in the UK," Dunya Maumoon, Maldives' foreign minister, said.

"The government acted in good faith in allowing Mr Nasheed to travel abroad for treatment. Yet it is now clear his primary goal was to court publicity in the United Kingdom. This is not medical leave, but media leave," the statement read.

She added: "The opportunity for Mr Nasheed to clear his name remains in the Maldives, not in the TV studios of London or Los Angeles."